Vinification Flashcards
EU definition of “wine”
The product obtained exclusively from the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether or not crushed, or of grape must
Grape maturity
One of the most decisive factors in determining wine quality and style Physiological changes - phenolics & taste Biochemical changes - sugars & acids
Key questions for harvesting
When
Forecasting
Preparing
How (manual vs machine)
Harvest date
Grape ripeness
- sugar
- acid
- health
- phenolic ripeness
Agrochemicals (fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, pesticides, etc)
- withholding period
- fermentation and health problems
e.g. sulphur –> hydrogen sulphide
copper –> brown haze, toxic copper salts in wine
Weather
- rain –> dilution, grape swelling and bursting
- hail
Availability of resources (human and mechanical)
Legal restrictions
Havesting - Getting ready
Estimating the crop (sufficient tank space)
Checking & cleaning equipment and machinery
Tanks clean and ready for use
Oenological products (yeasts, sulphur, enzymes, etc)
Havesting - Machine vs Hand
Factors to consider
- quality
- speed
- economics
- feasibility
Machine
- speed, grapes at peak; cheaper labour costs; cool night
- damage, oxidation, no selection, cost of machinery, flat land, trellis system (no bush nor pergolas)
Manual
- less damage, more selectivity, slopes, less $ for equipment
- high labour costs (10X machine), slower
- for sparkling wine, carbonic maceration (whole bunches); Tokaji, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese (selection of grapes); required by law
Harvesting - Transport & Reception
Use shallow picking containers
Less transfer between containers
Less dumping heights
Refrigerated trucks
Minimize delay before processing
Oxidation
- browning, loss of aroma
- CO2/nitrogen blanket; potassium metabisulphite; harvest at night; min delay
Microbial growth
- eliminate rotten grapes; clean equipment; berry integrity; min delay
Contamination
- rain
- leaves & stalks
- MOG (material other than grape)
- soil
Key questions for grape processing
Sorting
De-stemming
Crushing
Type of press
Amount of SO2
Must treatments
Sorting in French
Triage
De-stemming
Tannin control and ease of processing
Egrappoir = de-stemming machine
Most grapes are de-stemmed
Not for sparkling wines and carbonic maceration
Not required for machine harvested grapes
Pros
- prevent release of phenolics, herbaceous flavours, MOG
- more efficient pressing
- remove water and potassium (absorb colour and alcohol)
Cons
- whites: slower pressing and drainage (not for fine wines)
- reds: compaction of pomace cap; tannins and colour
Crushing
Release free-run juice
Reduce the solid parts of the grape to the correct condition for fermentation and maceration Increase extraction of tannin and colour
Careful not to damage grape seeds
Not to crush for semi-carbonic maceration (Spain, Beaujolais, Languedoc-Roussillon for Carignan and Grenache)
Fouloir = crusher
Equipment
- foot or de-stem/crush
- heat exchanger
- SO2 to reduce oxidation and prevent microbial spoilage
- use of pectolytic enzymes to release more juice
Pressing
Use of minimum pressure
Done at grape reception for whites; after fermentation for reds
70% of the total weight
Skin contact for aromatic whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscat, Riesling, Gewuztraminer, Viognier)
- 5-10 C
- few to 24 hours -
- pectolytic enzyme
Finest aromatic wines
- very gentle whole-bunch pressing
- no skin contact
Types of press
Vertical screw press (basket press)
- simple and easy; clear must or wine
- slow, labour intensive; extraction of bitter phenolics; oxidation
- high-class wineries; champagne
Horizontal screw press (e.g. Vaslin)
- more efficeint in terms of time and labour; simple; can be automated; prevent oxidation with inert gases
- rather coarse juice; extraction of bitter phenolics; high pressure reduces quality
Pneumatic press (e.v. Willmes)
- low pressure; good extraction; less bitter phenolics; high quality juice
- very slow
Tank press (pneumatic press with inert gas)
- no oxygen contact; high quality juice
- very slow; costly
Continuous screw press
- high throughput; less labour-intensive and time consuming
- poor quality; bitter phenolics
Must Treatments
Before fermentation
- SO2
- Clarification
- Enrichment or Chaptalisation
- Must concentration
- De-acidification
- Acidification
- Tannin
- Bentonite
- Flavour and colour enhancing enzymes
- Oxygen
SO2 in winemaking
Prevent oxidation and premature fermentation
Kill bacteria (for whites)
Stun weaker yeasts
Improve extraction of polyphenols from skins (for reds)
Four properties:
- Antiseptic - kills microorganisms (acetobacter/wild yeasts)
- Antioxidant - binds with oxygen
- Antioxidasic - denatures oxidasic enzymes
- Combines with acetaldehyde (by-product of oxidation)
Four forms of SO2
Potassium metabisulphate powder
Compressed and liquidified SO2 gas
SO2 in solution (5%)
Burning sulphur tablets or candles
SO2 levels
Based on style of wine, health of grapes, pH
Lower for organic wines
Recommended
- White: 60-100 mg/l
- Red: 10-60 mg/l
Limits -
- Dry white: 200 mg/l
- Dry red: 150 mg/l (red wines contain natural anti-oxidants)
- Off-dry white (5g/l sugar): 250 mg/l
- BA/TBA/Sauternes: 390 mg/l (binding power of sugars)
Free, bound and total SO2
Free - active, protective, molecular SO2 & sulphurous acid
Bound - combined with sugars, aldehydes, ketones, inactive
Total - free + bound
Pre-fermentation clarification
Remove solid particles
Produce cleaner flavours, more finesse, less bitter
Depend on
- state of the harvest
- grape processing method
- wine style required (little for full-bodied, complex wines; more for delicate and highly aromatic wines)
Clarification methods
Cold settling (common)
- debourbage
- by gravity
- 12 to 24 hours
- cool temperature (5-10 C)
- clear must racked off the sediment (lees)
- pectolytic enzymes and SO2
Centrifugation
- high level of clarity
- harsh, high risk of oxidation, expensive
- large wineries
Diatomaceous earth filtration
- for aromatic grapes
- can strip the must of nutrients for fermentation
Flotation
- bubbling small amounts of N, CO2 or air
- catching and floating solid particles
- skimmed off by a rotary suction device
- large wineries or cooperatives
Enrichment
Adding sugar to increase potential alcohol
No effect on wine sweetness
Permitted in cool regions
Unusually cool summer or early harvest in warm regions
Not allowed in Italy/Spain
Forms of sugar for enrichment
Sucrose (beet sugar) or cane sugar - chaptalisation
RCGM (rectified concentrated grape must) - enrichment
1 kg of sugar increase vol of wine by 0.63 l
White: 1% abv require 17 g/l sugar
Red: 1% abv require 19 g/l sugar (evaporation due to higher fermentation temp & pumping over)
Must concentration techniques
Vacuum evaporation
- water evaporates at low temperature of 20 C
- loss of aromas, hence use of chilled aroma trap
Reverse osmosis
- high pressure applied to must against a membrane filter
- no loss of aromas
- also used to remove alcohol and volatile acidity
Cryoextraction
- chill grapes to remove water in from of ice
- no loss of aromas
EU Rules on enrichment
Wine must be > 8.5% alcohol
Enriched wine < 11.5% (white) or 12% (red and rose)
Concentration not to increase alcohol by > 2% or reduce vol by 20% (whichever is lower)
Only one enrichment method and no blending of differently enriched wines